


Notes and Coffee

by Larry_Klaine_Stylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Barista!Harry, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-02
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-27 20:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/666235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson/pseuds/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry works in a coffee shop, and has taken quite a liking to one of his regular customers, Louis. He starts leaving little compliments on Louis' cup in hopes of getting his attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Notes and Coffee

It had been nearly two months since the blue eyed, caramel haired boy whose eyes crinkled when he smiled walked into the coffee shop Harry worked at. Harry was glad that they always asked for the customer's names, as to write them on the cups, because he had learned a few seconds after seeing the beautiful boy that his name was Louis.

Louis was a regular at the coffee shop now, coming in at least twice a week, but very often three. Harry tried his hardest to always be the one taking Louis' order, but sometimes he was busy cleaning or taking someone else's order when Louis arrived. He'd sneak small glances at Louis, who always sat at the same table every time he came in, but only when Louis wasn't looking. Harry was trying to figure out the best course of action to get the boy's attention.

When Louis came in the Tuesday two months after his initial visit to the coffee shop, Harry had made up his mind.

He was going to start leaving small notes on Louis' coffee cup. Just little compliments, or cheeky comments, and try to grab the boy's attention. Get him interested. Then he would tell him who he was. He was pretty sure his plan was rather brilliant, and he just hoped it would play out as well as it had in his head.

He took Louis' order, which often changed. He didn't have a go-to coffee order like most of their regular customers. He liked to mix it up a bit. He grabbed a cup, and instead of just writing Louis' name on it, he wrote, "Louis, your shirt really makes your eyes pop today." with a little smiley face beside it.

When Louis came up to get his coffee, he took a look at the cup, a bright smile lighting up his face. Harry felt his heart swell at the fact that he had caused that smile.

He continued the process, day after day. Even when he wasn't the one taking Louis' order, he would make sure to get to the cup in time to add a little note before Louis took his drink away.

The third day, his note had gone like this, "Louis" was written in someone else's handwriting, a co-worker of his, and then Harry had added a comma, and said "your fringe is looking extra perfect today." He was feeling cheeky that day, so he added a winky face, instead of the smiley face he had placed on the last two.

He watched Louis out of the corner of his eye, and he could swear he saw him blushing as he looked at his coffee cup. Harry began to grin, figuring his plan was working quite well so far. The big test, however, would come when he revealed who he was.

000

It had been two weeks since Louis had received the first little note on his coffee cup, and he had to admit, he really enjoyed them. He had yet to figure out who it was, however, and he was dying with anticipation.

He hoped it was the curly haired, dimpled, elegantly long fingered barista, who he had come to know as Harry, thanks to the name tag which he always wore.

Louis had to admit, he had taken quite a fancy to Harry the first time he came into the little coffee shop. He was the perfect mixture of absolutely adorable, and positively sexy, and Louis had found himself quite smitten. So, naturally, when he had started receiving flirty little compliments on his coffee cups, he had hoped with all his heart that they were from Harry.

He watched closely, always trying to see who had his cup when, but whoever was doing this was sneaky, and Louis hadn't caught them yet.

He was pretty sure his favorite little note so far had been, "Louis, your voice is angelic. Anyone ever told you that?"

He'd always been a bit self conscious about his voice. He didn't know why. It was just one of those things, he supposed. And so after reading that note he hadn't stopped smiling for the rest of the day.

He may have taken that cup home with him and cut out the little message before throwing the rest of the cup away, but he'd never tell anyone that.

It was silly, really, how excited he was about such a little thing. But he found himself growing increasingly more eager to get to the coffee shop on the days he went, and increasingly sad on the days he didn't go.

The thought had crossed his mind, once or twice, that maybe this was something they did for all of their customers now. Maybe it was a new policy to make everyone feel special. His heart had dropped into his stomach at the thought, and he pushed it away, just wanting to keep feeling special.

Today he kept a close eye on all the workers, as usual, with a special eye on Harry, but still he didn't notice who was writing the little notes on his cup. He just didn't understand. He picked his cup up off the counter, turning it in his hands and looking at the message, "Louis, your ass looks fantastic in those jeans." This one had a winky face. The winky faces were a bit rare, but Louis loved them. They made it feel a lot more flirty and a lot less friendly, and although Louis would love to have Harry for a friend, assuming he was the one writing the notes, he would also love to be so much more than that.

He let out a tiny, almost inaudible gasp at the compliment, and tried to subtly look at his own bum without making it obvious that he was doing so. He never really paid any attention to what his ass looked like in his trousers, and the fact that someone had taken notice, and decidedly enjoyed it made him blush to the tips of his ears.

He really, really hoped this was Harry.

000

After his incredibly cheeky and out there note yesterday, Harry hoped he hadn't scared Louis off. He really did have a fantastic ass and he deserved to know it.

He sighed in relief when Louis walked through the doors of the coffee shop that afternoon, taking his order with a wide smile.

He decided today was the day. The day to reveal himself.

He didn't want to just outright say it. He couldn't very well just go, "Louis, your ass looks great again. I'm Harry, by the way." So he decided for something a little more subtle. Something that left the ball in Louis' court.

He wrote Louis' name, as per usual, and then followed it with a ten digit number and the words, "Text me some time, yeah?"

He studied Louis carefully as he took the cup, and noticed his eyes crinkle adorably as a wide smile placed itself onto his face. Harry hoped that meant he would be getting a text message soon.

Two days passed and nothing. No text. Louis hadn't even come into the shop.

Harry was beginning to think he had completely ruined everything.

000

Louis took the cup home, staring at it occasionally and trying to decide what to do.

He wanted to text. He wanted to text so badly.

But what if it wasn't Harry? What if he'd spent all this time thinking it was Harry saying all these sweet things to him, and in the end, it wasn't? What if it was a girl, even? What would he do then? He was completely and totally gay, and he wouldn't know what to say if it was a girl.

Then there was the issue of not seeming desperate. If it was Harry, he didn't want to text right away, or it would seem like he had been waiting for something like this to happen all along, which, admittedly, he was.

And what if it was Harry, and they got to talking, and Harry realized that Louis wasn't everything he'd thought he was? What then?

Three days had passed, and finally, Louis picked up his phone, texting the number on the side of the coffee cup.

'Um, hi. It's Louis, from the coffee shop.'

The reply was almost immediate.

'Thank God. I thought you were never going to text.'

Louis felt butterflies dancing around in his stomach as he typed out his next message.

'Do I get to know who this is now then?'

This text took a bit longer, and Louis waited, his hands shaking just slightly and he tried to calm his breathing. His phone buzzed in his hand, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked down at his phone, telling him he had a new text, but he could barely bring himself to open it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he opened up the message. He then opened his eyes and saw it.

'It's Harry.'

He let out a deep sigh, the butterflies in his stomach increasing in intensity.

'I'd hoped it would be. Is that weird? That I hoped it was you?'

'Not weird.' Came Harry's reply. 'Very flattering and very much how I hoped you'd react.'

'Good.' Louis said, not having any clue what else to say. Was he supposed to flirt now?

'You know, I meant everything I said in all of those notes.' Harry told him, and Louis felt himself blushing.

'Thank you.' He said, and then quickly sent another text, feeling like he wasn't contributing much to the conversation and not wanting to be an idiot. 'I really like your dimples, Harry.'

So much for not being an idiot. As soon as he'd pressed send he wanted to slap himself in the face.

'No problem, babe. And do you really?'

Louis was definitely blushing bright red now, because had Harry really called him babe? Was this actually happening?

'Babe? And yeah, really. They're probably my favorite thing about you, right before your curls.'

Louis was pretty sure he was awful at flirting. He'd never had much opportunity to do so before, and he was, quite honestly, lost.

'Sorry. Too forward? And thank you.'

'Not too forward.' Louis said. 'I like it. Just...not used to this sort of thing, I guess.'

'You're not used to this? No one's ever flirted with you before? Or just not some random nobody from a coffee shop? P.S. If babe wasn't too forward, would it be too forward for me to say that I'd really like it if you ran your fingers through my curls? ;)'

Louis couldn't help it. He kicked his feet like a thirteen year old girl talking to someone she fancied quite a bit. And he felt foolish, alone in his flat, screaming internally over a boy he hardly knew. But Harry was definitely flirting. He'd said so himself. And Louis thought he might vomit, but only in the best possible way.

'Never really been flirted with period. And you're not a nobody.' Louis blushed has he tried to think of a response to the second half of Harry's text. 'Um, no. Not too forward. I'd...like that, too?'

Yep. He was an idiot. But Harry hadn't seemed to mind so far, so maybe it was okay.

'That's ridiculous. You're the most gorgeous person I've ever seen. I really am a nobody. And why the question mark? You don't know if you'd like that?'

Louis was pretty sure he'd stopped breathing at some point in the conversation, but he didn't know when or how to start again.

'I'm not. I can't be. And you're not a nobody to me.' God, that was cheesy, wasn't it? 'No, no. I know I'd like it. Like I said, I'm new at this.'

'I'm telling you the truth, Louis. You're kind of breathtaking, honestly. And thank you, you're sweet. Just be a little more confident with what you're saying, babe. You'll be an expert flirter in no time. :p'

'I...Thank you, Harry. What if I said that your eyes are the nicest shade of green I've ever seen, and I'd love to look into them all day long?'

'I'd say that your eyes remind me of the sky and the ocean all in one, and if you're looking into mine, I'll look into yours.'

Louis felt like maybe this was getting a bit intense, considering this was the first real conversation he'd ever had with Harry, and it was through text, so he tried to defuse the tension with a joke.

'So, about my ass. :p' He said.

Harry apparently wasn't in a joking mood, because he responded with a simple, 'It's quite lovely.'

'Harry, I'm quite honestly blushing like a schoolgirl. Cut it out.'

'You're cute when you blush, though. My messages made you blush a few times, and it was adorable.'

'Are you quite finished?'

'Depends.'

'On?'

'Whether you'd like to go out for coffee with me tomorrow? Anywhere but where I work, they won't leave us alone if we go there.'

'I'd love to.'

'So, it's a date?'

'It's a date.'

Louis sighed, setting his phone down on his chest and just closing his eyes and thinking about how perfect everything was at that very moment.

000

Harry couldn't be more excited about how things had worked out with Louis. He had texted him that morning to arrange a time and place for their coffee date, and he was on his way to meet Louis right now. He parked his car in an empty space in the lot and got out, walking up to the front door of the coffee shop and spotting Louis already sitting down, reading a book, which Harry assumed was to help pass the time until he got there.

"Hey, you." He greeted, and he realized this was his first time talking to Louis in person aside from just taking his order.

"Harry." He smiled, closing his book, and standing up, but then he seemed not to know what to do next, because he just stood there.

"C'mere, you." Harry said, opening his arms wide for a hug.

Louis wrapped his arms firmly around Harry's waist, and Harry hugged him back, squeezing gently. This was nice, and honestly felt a bit like hugging an old friend. He liked that he was so comfortable with Louis so quickly, and he hoped Louis felt the same.

"I'll get us some coffees, yeah?" Harry asked. "What would you like?"

"You know the kinds of things I like. Surprise me."

Harry thought Louis seemed maybe a bit cheekier in person than he did through text, and he was very excited to sit down and just chat with him.

He got them each a coffee, and came back to the little table by the window, setting Louis' down in front of him. He took an experimental sip of the drink before looking at Harry from across the table, "Delicious."

"Yeah?"

"Very." Louis told him. "You know, this is silly, but I don't even know how old you are." Louis said.

"Twenty." Harry stated.

"I'm nearing on twenty three now." Louis answered.

"And yet you're shorter than me." Harry teased him, loving the little crinkly-eyed grin that broke out across his face.

"Shut it, you." Louis said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"I like this." Harry commented, resisting the urge to reach across the table and take Louis' hand. He didn't want to move too fast and make the older boy uncomfortable.

"Me too." Louis said. "What exactly is it that we like?"

Harry let a loud boisterous laugh bubble out of his mouth at that, and quickly clamped a hand down over his mouth to stifle the sound.

"Is it your laugh? Because I definitely like that."

"No. I mean, thank you. But no. It's just this. Just...how I feel so comfortable with you, you know?"

"I do know. I definitely like it, too. Maybe not quite as much as your laugh, though." Louis said, drinking some more of his coffee.

Harry realized then that he hadn't even taken a sip of his own yet, too wrapped up in Louis and all his cute little mannerisms, and the way he liked Harry's laugh. He picked up his cup, taking a large gulp. He felt the need to start listing off all the beautiful things there were about Louis, but he thought that was probably silly, so instead he just stared at him.

Louis began to blush, "Harry, you're staring."

"Sorry." Harry apologized, not removing his eyes from Louis' face.

"Harry, really." Louis said, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, which Harry assumed to be a little thing he did when he was slightly nervous.

Harry reached across the table, taking the hand that Louis had resting on the table in his, not being able to resist any longer.

"You're really pretty." Harry said. "But not like girly pretty, you know? Like manly pretty."

Louis was blushing again, looking down at he and Harry's fingers, which were entwined, "Thank you. I feel the same way about you. Have since the first day I saw you in your little coffee shop."

It was Harry's turn to blush, finally, and he ran his thumb up and down Louis' hand.

They finished their coffee mostly in silence, their hands never parting. Occasionally Harry would catch Louis staring at him, and he was sure Louis had caught him doing the same, and everything was perfect.

When they finished their coffee they both got up, and walked out of the building into the cold air of the early winter. Louis gave Harry a hug goodbye, but Harry decided he was having none of that. He leaned in, pressing his lips firmly to Louis'. And Louis tasted like coffee, and he was warm, and he felt like home.

"I'll text you soon, yeah? We can do this again?"

"Yeah." Louis nodded, and Harry thought he sounded a bit breathless.

And then Louis was leaning in again suddenly, stretching upwards just the slightest bit so he could reach Harry's mouth, and kissing him again. And this time he was running his hands through Harry's curls, just like they had talked about yesterday. And Harry smiled into the kiss, deepening it just slightly, and it was everything he'd been dreaming of ever since he'd come out to his mum at the young age of eight. It was everything he'd ever thought a man would be. It wasn't his first kiss, or his first anything, really, but it was the best.

The separated, and then went their own ways, both heading back to their respective homes, and Harry had to stop himself from texting Louis the second he reached the front door of his flat.

Because Louis was perfect, and he wanted to tell him that.


End file.
